PRESIDENT

The State of the Chamber

Each October, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) holds its Ordinary General Meeting—an opportunity to bring all members together for a review of the past year and to kick off our annual election cycle. One of the many privileges of being ACCJ President is the opportunity to deliver a State of the Chamber address at this event. I’d like to share some of the highlights with you.

Through a year that’s been anything but “ordinary,” the chamber’s accomplishments have been nothing short of extraordinary.

Our members and committees are at the heart of what drives the chamber. This year, we’ve seen an increase in women committee leaders, and we continue to promote diverse leaders on all committees.

At the end of last year, the chamber added community as one of its core pillars. This was done to codify the ACCJ’s commitment to responsible corporate citizenship. Thank you to the Community Service Advisory Council, the Charity Ball Committee, and the Chubu and Kansai Community Service Committees for driving the chamber’s support for the communities in which we do business.

On advocacy, in particular, the chamber has published 45 documents to date, including Covid-19-related advocacy on such topics as taxation, healthcare, and reentry restrictions. Thank you to all our committee leaders for your service to the membership and for driving these important initiatives offering invaluable opportunities to members.

At the start of 2020, we committed ourselves to achieving three main strategic goals:

TRADE HARMONY AND MODERNIZATION The ACCJ has worked closely with the Embassy of the United States, Tokyo and the Government of Japan to amplify our members’ voices. We’ve maintained active dialogues with Washington, DC, and the United States Trade Representative in the lead-up to Phase 2 of the US–Japan Trade Agreement negotiations.

Digital trade has been a critical part of our advocacy efforts. One recent example is the annual Internet Economy Dialogue Industry Session—a joint virtual event between the ACCJ and Keidanren, the Japanese Business Federation, with invitations to the US and Japanese governments to discuss the US–Japan partnership on digital economy, policy, and technology.

The chamber looks forward to continuing these efforts with the new administration of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY AND HEALTHCARE To support the Health and Retirement Pillar, we are nearing completion of the white paper titled Post-Covid-19 Recommendations to Ensure a Social Security System for All Generations.

By Peter Fitzgerald ACCJ President PRESIDENT

Thank you to all the members who have been tirelessly leading this initiative this year.

UNLOCKING JAPAN’S DIGITAL POTENTIAL The chamber is taking the lead on how to drive digital growth across all member sectors. The New Digital Agenda white paper, currently in development, will present transformative digital technologies in Japan and unlock opportunities for growth and innovation in the US and Japanese economies for the next decade.

In addition to the Internet Economy Dialogue, we’ve engaged in a Government of Japan industrial cybersecurity working group. This enables the chamber to deliver our voice directly to the government on digital and cybersecurity issues. And, in September, we launched the new Digital Society Pillar to align and hone digital advocacy efforts.

CHUBU The ACCJ’s Chubu chapter has been a model of commitment to the community. The Chubu Walkathon, held virtually for the first time, was a resounding success. Having reached more than 14,000 people and close to 4,000 engagements as of this month, it has enabled us to donate ¥6 million to more than 20 charities and organizations this fall.

The Walkathon brought the community closer together, and the chamber, as a whole, is benefiting greatly from virtual access to Chubu-initiated events.

KANSAI The energy of the Kansai chapter’s leaders has been driving several exciting and impactful initiatives, such as its Leadership Series, the Diversity & Inclusion Summit, the upcoming Healthcare x Digital pitch event, and its Technology Series.

As with Chubu, Kansai has seen increased engagement of members in chamber-wide events and more Tokyo members are also enjoying virtual access to Kansai events. Kansai Executive Committee leaders published newsletters with content focused on member needs during the pandemic, and the chapter contributed to the Food Bank Kansai to support the community.

As you can see, faced with difficult circumstances, the chamber achieved its mission and delivered on strategic goals, all the while becoming a stronger and more agile organization.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my fellow board members, committee leaders, and ACCJ members for your support.

It has been an honor and pleasure to serve as ACCJ President this year. This wasn’t the experience I anticipated when I ran for this position, but it’s an experience that will stay with me and that has given me a fresh perspective on what’s possible when people and companies work together toward a common goal. ■